So, I traveled to Italy with my husband and younger college daughter, meeting my older college daughter there after her semester abroad in Madrid. Today is the second day. I decided to start a thread for this because I'm so unbelievably happy with all the changes in my life so far that are making this trip truly one in a lifetime. I also wanted to not hijack the NSV thread because I have so much to be happy about, and this trip will be for two weeks!

Before I departed Chicago, I was 9 weeks postop and 4 weeks after my first band fill. I had dropped 55 pounds from my high weight in February. I was 302 then and 247 now. I was nervous about flying, and my new band being too tight during the flight.

My first happy moment was fitting in the seat without a seatbelt extender and actually having to pull it tighter! I dreamed of that and it happened. Second was the in flight meal. I didn't plan to eat because I was afraid of tightness due to swelling during flight, but I was pretty hungry and decided to try very carefully. It was fine. I ate very slowly and chewed very thoroughly. I also drank tomato juice, Water and tea on the plane and kept my liquids up.

My younger daughter decided she was going to help me by sharing meals with me over the next two weeks so that I didn't overdo it. So our first airport food was shared between connecting flights and it was enough. A little Chinese beef for me and beef and rice for her.

After we landed the next day in Rome and found our luggage, our older daughter met us at Arrivals. She put her arms all the way around me and told me I was "tiny". I haven't seen her in over 5-1/2 months since she took a semester abroad. It was wonderful to see her again.

Off to Rome from the Italian terminal. From there a train to florence. Between the Chicago, Dublin and Rome airports, and then walking about two miles over cobblestones with all of our luggage to our Florence hotel, I walked more than I have in years. I was tired and sore but not the least bit out of breath. I was so happy about not being winded that I decided not to strangle our travel agent who told us it was "a few blocks" away and not worth a taxi.

Then a lovely dinner in our hotel, which I was able to eat about half of. I've never left delicious food on a plate in a foreign country until now. It was incredible.

Today we awoke to realize my phone alarm didn't ring and wake us up like I'd planned, so my family went downstairs to have the continental Breakfast in a hurry while I dressed and had an powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury Protein shake. I'm so glad I brought the to-go packets. Off to the first activity of our trip -- a 3 hour walking tour of Florence.

How can I describe what it feels like to be able to walk for three hours (plus the 30 minutes returning to our hotel because they don't return you to the starting spot) and stand and walk without stopping to sit, when six months before this, walking to the church a block from my house made my back ache and my chest heave so much that I always felt I was a heart attack waiting to happen? Not once did I get winded today. My feet are damned sore but that's from the cobblestones. My back does not ache. My arthritic knee started to complain in the final hour, but not all day.

We stopped at a little restaurant and I had a delightful lunch of roasted cheese and vegetables and a glass of wine with my teen daughters. That was a new experience for all of us! Needless to say, they love Europe!

Then we stopped for gelato at a recommended spot and I did not order the large, or the medium, or the small. I ordered the "tiny", in keeping with my new identity. It was about 1/4 cup of chocolate hazelnut heaven. And it was enough!!

Back to the hotel and into the bath. Deep European tubs -- sinfully decadent! Loving every minute of it.

Resting now before a walk tonight and dinner somewhere. Tomorrow is an eleven hour tour of Tuscany by bus and a winery in there somewhere.

More to come!

So glad you're writing this -- I will be reading every word! And to have just a teaspoon of that hazlenut gelato. Heaven! Say hello to Piazza Michelangelo for me, Baptistry and Duomo. Oh my, you're so lucky! Keep us posted on your adventures, which we know will be involving a lot of walking -- on air and on the ground.

JustWatchMe, you are doing absolutely wonderful on your trip to Italy...and glad you are having such a great time and feeling so well doing it...its marvelous to hear your story of your trip. please let us know how your days go and congrats on the airplane seats...so know that was one of my goals too...it made me feel good to beable to sit in a chair without a problem. have fun and fill us in on your fun days okay?

Don't forget pics and have a great fun adventurous time , enjoy your life now.

I'm so exhausted but wanted to send you a picture or two from Tuscany. We walked up hills and down hills all day in Siena, San Gimagnano, and Pisa. My daughter got a leather coat. We drank four different wines. All is wonderful. Side note: there are no fat people in Italy. They walk all day up and down hills and eat the most amazing fresh food. Ok, I saw one plump nun. But she looked like a tourist.

I'm going to try to attach a photo or two, but I don't know if the phone app will let me.

PS: I can't find the way to add a picture from the iPhone app.

Edited May 18, 201412 yr by JustWatchMe

Please keep posting. Am enjoying reading of your trip and the many many nsv's too. I can't wait till I am able to go to Europe as well. Not there yet, but soon I hope.

Another amazing day. Venice is indescribable. More walking and many stairs, of course. I'm wishing I had a FitBit to track all this exercise! The city is like a labyrinth, with every turn a new adventure. Of course, we took a gondola ride. I didn't realize until I was in the boat that I didn't fret about my weight. That was new for me. The gondolier balanced us as a family in the boat. It was expensive, but worth every euro.

Eating has been interesting. I'm walking and climbing so much that I'm way more hungry than usual at meals. And the wine! But I'm tracking it every night in MyFitnessPal, and the numbers haven't been too bad. McDonald's has a Pasta salad in Venice that is outstanding. That was my evening meal (11pm) because by the time we got back to our hotel tonight, that was the only place open within walking distance. It feels sacrilegious to eat pasta at McDonald's in Italy, but lunch was literally 9 hours earlier. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. And it really was good. Not as good as our amazing lunch, but surprisingly good for fast food.

My daughters are smitten with the ceramic masks that are everywhere here. I have a feeling we'll be carrying one or more home on the plane.

Tomorrow we take a train into a small town where my husband's family originates from. More walking!

My poor shoes!

Oh, and does anyone remember the episode of Friends when Monica takes a tropical vacation? Her hair got bigger and frizzier every day? Yeah, that. Kinda freeing actually. I debated whether to pack my hair appliances and decided against it. I didn't know just how big my hair could actually get until this week. My kids like it. I might keep the look.

@@JustWatchMe So happy for you…to be reunited with your daughter…having wonderful family time together….living your life….getting yourself healthy…and truly enjoying life as it was meant to be.

Congrats on enjoying and handling all of those wonderful food experiences in such a positive and exciting way.

Look forward to hearing more chapters in your adventure abroad.

Having fun and living life to the fullest…YOU GO!

Just got an email from my mom. The animal care center where our dog is boarded said he's having anxiety and won't eat. My mom visited him for an hour yesterday and brought him homemade chicken. Comfort food?

Edited May 20, 201412 yr by JustWatchMe

Amazing JustWatchMe your trip is just amazing, sorry about your pup...they do get so attached hope he'll be okay...hope they keep him hydrated!!! Enjoy your trip...thank heaven for your mom!!! Keep us informed on your travels!!! Love to hear about all your exercising and site visits...reminds me of a lot of my own travels in Europe while I was in the Army. Stay safe and have fun!!!

Wow, you are seeing a lot in a short period of time! The Florentines have a wonderful term, Stendhalismo, for when the artwork starts to get blurry and you're kind of stumbling around drunk from all the beauty. I love Venice, too. Such a wild city -- all that unexpected mystery at every turn. And of course the ultimate walking city. I'm so thrilled for you! I think in choosing the band we are choosing to really show up for our lives and that is an amazing thing.

Side note on food policy and regulations in US vs. Europe: McDonald's fries in London have three ingredients. Here in the US? Are you ready? Seventeen. The Italians would never put up with the GMOs we have in our food here and the corporations fighting against even labeling them for us. Scary food times. Makes me want to move to Italy!

Have fun with your family -- what a trip and so many memories to savor over the years.

Oh, my feet!!! Today we walked around Cittadella. And I do mean around Cittadella. There is a medieval wall around the city making a circle of 1.5 kilometers. We walked the entire top of it as well as straight through town twice. We tried to find my husband's relatives but ended up on a wild goose chase in a taxi. We found a different family with the same surname. They were so sweet and brought all their family out to meet us, even though we were no relation. Old nonnas came out to talk in rapid fire Italian. It was a hoot. My younger daughter had one semester of college Italian so she tried to translate. The taxi driver took us to the totally wrong town the first try. Not a word of English. You can't help but laugh. We haven't eaten in ten hours. Oh yeah, the town takes a siesta of sorts in mid afternoon. Everything closes for a few hours. Tomorrow we go to the Amalfi Coast via Naples. This leg of the journey better involve some sitting on my tush by a swimming pool!!!

Side note: when cellular data and roaming are turned off, you sure appreciate free wifi, like in this little grocery next to the train station. Life's little luxuries.

For anyone who noticed, yes, I have poorly planned my meals the last two days. I guess I never thought food would be so inaccessible, since every corner of the US has junk food on it. I should clarify to say that I could have had chips or candy many times, but didn't. I stuck with water. By the way, you have to specify naturale water, or you get carbonated. Anyway, I haven't been carrying a purse, just my money belt, so it didn't occur to me to carry a protein shake all day while walking a medieval wall. But tomorrow I'm carrying an Atkins Shake no matter what. Two days in a row with too many hours between meals isn't a good plan. It's a setup for overeating. So far, it's been okay, and my daughter has indeed been sharing my food when we finally sit down to a meal. But better prepared than sorry.

I just realized that I don't need to carry an Atkins shake. I can carry an Unjury powder packet in my belt and just buy a bottle of water. Genius.

Anyway, I just had the most lovely dinner all alone. The family went back to the Grand Canal in Venice without me, as my knees needed a well deserved break. So, my second meal of the day, at 10PM, was a lovely Caprese salad and pesto. It was so pleasant to sit in the restaurant surrounded by people speaking Italian, and just soak up the atmosphere.

I ate only half of the pesto and brought the rest back to the room for my daughter. It is amazing to me that even with this wonderful food, I can listen to my band and stop when I feel the signal that I have had enough. The only thing I'm eating more of here than I would at home is the bread. I just cannot pass up this amazing bread and local olive oil. But, only one piece. The other thing is the wine. Okay, I guess that's two things. What can I say? It is really good.

The other difference here is the portion sizes are all somewhat "normal". For example, I was not given a giant plate of pasta. I was given what amounts to about 1-1/2 cups of cooked pasta. Even that was more than I needed, since I started with the Caprese salad. Oh, and this was cool. The pesto was served normally with pasta underneath, but it was topped off with green beans tossed in the pesto sauce! I had thought recently that pesto was not going to be part of my regular diet, because pasta isn't necessarily the best band choice. But I don't need the pasta! I can make the pesto sauce, and toss it with any vegetables I like. Green beans were perfect. I might actually come home from Italy as a good cook.

Tomorrow will be a long, long, long day of traveling by train and private car. We are headed from Venice, in the north, all the way south past Naples, to the Amalfi Coast. I expect not to have Wi-Fi until late into the evening. So, ciao for now!